Iola High’s softball team wasn’t about to let a little adversity get in its way Tuesday.
The Mustangs had endured a lengthy rain delay, only to see visiting Osawatomie immediately take the upper hand when play resumed to jump ahead, 6-1.
Undaunted, Iola came roaring back.
Aysha Houk delivered the big blow, a bases-clearing triple that turned a 6-4 deficit into a 7-6 lead.
The Mustangs rolled from there to a 10-6 victory.
Then, after spotting the Trojans a quick 2-0 lead in the nightcap, Iola finished off the sweep with three in the second, six in the third and four in the fourth to take control.
The resulting 14-4 victory lifts Iola to 4-6 on the season, and gives head coach Chris Weide reason for optimism in the second half of the season.
“We’re almost where we need to be as a team,” Weide said. “There’s still a ways to go, but they’re really coming together, picking each other up in spots, whether it’s saying something positive, or making a play.”
Perhaps even more encouraging were the contributions up and down the lineup, from both upper- and underclassmen, Weide said.
Iola’s prowess at hitting with two outs helped a bunch, too.
Iola rapped out 14 hits in the opener, including Reese Curry’s run-scoring single to push Iola on top 1-0 in the bottom of the first in Game 1. (More on her later.)
But with the rain steadily increasing in intensity, and the occasional rumble of thunder growing louder, the umpires suspended play in the second inning.
The Trojans then smacked a ground ball through a hole on the left side of the infield to take a 2-1 lead once the game resumed.
The Trojans then strung together five hits in the third, including a pair of doubles, as part of a four-run inning to lead, 6-1.
A pair of two-out rallies tilted the proceedings back in Iola’s favor.
The bases were empty with two outs in the fourth when Iola’s Mia Shelby reached on an infield single. Jadyn Kaufman did the same before Houk ripped a single up the middle to make it 6-2. Maci Miller was next to cut the gap to three before Jenna Curry reached on an error to bring Houk home.
Iola pitcher Elza Clift then stymied a potential Osawatomie rally with the bases loaded in the top of the fifth.
